A Review of The Fresh Diet

I have just wrapped up a full week of The Fresh Diet. Last week, I talked about getting started with The Fresh Diet, some of my concerns, and how the process worked. Now, it’s time to get down to the pros and cons of the service. Before I do, however, I want to say that I enjoyed the experience so much that I’ve signed on for another 31 days at my own expense. I’m not the only blogger who has done so, either. And I have highly recommended it to more than one person who I thought would enjoy/benefit from the experience.

Pros:

Fresh meals delivered to your door

A way to ensure a healthy, balanced diet (they even warn you if you choose too many carbs in a day… sigh)

Delicious food

Easy to prepare (less than a minute and a half in the microwave at most)

A variety of options, including vegetarian choices

No sodium added

The ability to rule out some of your least favorite foods, especially if you’re on a plan where the chefs choose your food for you.

Cons:

*These are things that I simply don’t love about the service, but I have a separate list of things I think they could change for the better

You need to commit to whole days of the food, leaving you with extras if you go out for dinner or want a special meal with your family

Lots of plastic. Each meal/snack is in a plastic container. They are recyclable, but it’s still a lot of plastic.

The cooking times are often too low/high, even taking into account the differences in microwave wattage. There are only two cooking instruction levels, so you have to pay attention to see if the instructions seem on point. I found that meals were not hot enough with the recommended time (and we have a high-wattage microwave), but smaller dishes were often far overdone.

Having my meals sit out on the front step overnight bugs me for some reason. They are zip-tied shut, so they can’t be tampered with without you knowing, but it still feels weird. That said, I’m usually up late enough to bring in my meal when it’s delivered.

It’s expensive unless you’re used to sending out every day.

Changes:

I’d like nutritional info for each meal or each part of a meal, so I can get used to planning around specific nutritional values and so I can make substitutions for things I don’t like.

If I didn’t miss it somehow, I’d like a calorie calculator on site to make it easier to figure out your goal calories for your height/weight/activity level.

No more bananas cut in half. They simply do not retain any appetizing qualities…

When I was signing up to continue the service, I casually mentioned that I was going to have to try to recreate some of the recipes. And guess what? There’s a cookbook coming out. I’ll be reviewing that in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes out!

The bottom line for me is that if you can afford the service, it’s a pretty good one, at least around here. I lost a few pounds in just one week and, other than feeling a bit restricted by not being able make food choices on any given day (i.e., having to plan out my meals in advance), I really enjoyed it. Once again, if you think that The Fresh Diet may be for you, they’re offering a special discount.

Disclosure: I was given a week of service from The Fresh Diet to facilitate my review. In addition, I was compensated for my time. There was no promise of a positive review and the opinions in this post are my own.